Forget-Me-Not
by Demosthenes23
Summary: What if Murdoch had lost his entire memory at the Alice in Wonderland Party?
1. A Chance to Start Over

Someone was attempting to awake me. I wished they would stop. My head was pounding and I felt sick to my stomach. But still they persisted in shaking my shoulder. Reluctantly I opened my eyes to find two young men wearing the same dark blue outfits (constable uniforms?) hovering over me. The nearer one with short dark brown hair was repeatedly calling me sir.

With some effort I pushed myself into a sitting position and said, "Who are you?"

The two men shared a look with each other and the helmet less man said, "Sir, it's me, George." I must have given him a blank stare for he continued, "Do you really not know who we are?"

I shook my head once, instantly regretting this decision for the world began to swim. I held on to George for support, which he readily applied.

"I'm afraid I don't even know who _I_ am."

This realization should have disturbed me but for some reason it didn't. It was as if a weight had been lifted and I was free to start anew and remake myself into whatever form I saw fit.

George glanced over his shoulder and said in a commanding tone, "Henry, get Dr. Ogden in here straight away!"

Henry took off. George returned his worried attentions to me. "It's going to be all right, sir. I'm sure the doctor will sort you out in no time."

Shortly after he said this a beautiful woman entered the bedroom and said, "What's going on?"

I thought her voice was the prettiest thing I had ever heard. Which I suppose wasn't saying much since I had only been self aware for a few minutes. Nevertheless my body seemed to respond to this woman and I suddenly had an almost overwhelming urge to touch her.

George walked over to her and said something in hushed tones. Dr. Ogden appeared very distressed and I longed to comfort her. The two men waited in the doorway as she came over to my side. She opened a black bag and pulled out a flashlight.

"Don't be alarmed now, William, I'm just going to shine this light in your eyes to determine if you are suffering from any neurological damage."

William? I felt no association to the name, only her. I stared at her face trying to take in all the details, wanting them to be the first thing I memorized completely in this new life.

"William? Did you understand what I just said?"

I simply nodded and she got to work. She smiled slightly afterwards. Then she reached into her bag and pulled out a needle. Reflexively I moved away from it. Her smile widened.

"It appears that your instincts have not entirely left you."

_If you only knew._

"Do you know what this is?" she asked.

"A needle," I said, confused by the question.

"Good. And that?" she said pointing to the lamp beside my head. I told her what it was.

"Does your head hurt?"

"Yes."

"I'll need to examine it too then."

She gave it a quick once over with her eyes and then started running her hands through my hair and I closed my eyes in satisfaction, sighing in contentment.

"Am I hurting you?"

"No," I said with a smile, "I am quite enjoying myself."

Dr. Ogden removed her hands and looked at me strangely. Then she hastily glanced away and said, "Well everything seems to be in order. There doesn't appear to be any signs of physical or neurological damage. I suspect that you were drugged last night. I will need to run further tests to be sure though."

She was halfway to the door when I called out, "Wait! What is your name?"

Dr. Ogden turned around to face me, looking out of sorts and said, "Julia. My name is Julia."

"Julia," I repeated. "That's a lovely name."

"Thank you...William."

With one last fleeting glance she exited the room. I smiled contentedly to myself, happy in the knowledge that I would get to spend more time with her.

Not long after George came back into the room and said, "The doctor is leaving now, sir, you need to go with her."

I nodded and the man helped me out of the bed, down the stairs and into a waiting carriage. Julia was already in there, as was something (someone?) covered with a white sheet. Once we started moving, I attempted to peek under it and she grabbed my wrist gently, shaking her head. It was then that I noticed the ring on her finger.

"I take it you're engaged then?"

_To me_? I thought hopefully.

She seemed taken aback by the question and looked away. "Indeed I am."

My heart sunk. _Not me then._

"When are you to be married?"

"In a few days time."

Each word hit me like a ton of bricks. How could the only person I felt so incredibly close to, that I didn't even _remember_, be getting married to another? Had I simply been a coward in my other life? Had I never told her how I felt?

"This may come across as impudent but I just have to know," - she glanced at me curiously with those wonderful bluish green eyes- "were we ever involved, Julia? Romantically?"

Suddenly she became very uncomfortable and stared downwards. "Yes, we were, William." Looking at me hopefully, "Are you starting to remember?"

I shook my head and said, "What happened? Why are we no longer together?"

"It's complicated..."

"Please, Julia, I have to know."

She sighed. "I told you something about myself...and you didn't take very kindly to the knowledge."

If my feelings were half as strong towards her as they currently were, I couldn't believe I would ever have let her go. What kind of damn fool was I in this past life?

We sat in awkward silence the rest of the way to the morgue.

Two constables wheeled the body into the viewing area and I followed them inside. Julia told me to take a seat at her desk.

She pulled out the same needle from before and I couldn't stop myself from flinching yet again.

"This will only hurt for a second, William."

Julia took the blood sample over to her laboratory and got to work. In the meantime I glanced around the room, not recognizing any of it but still somehow _knowing _what everything was. I caught my reflection in a glass partition and did a double take. What on _earth_ was I wearing? It was utterly ridiculous and further proof of what an imbecile I must have been...was.

I looked across the room and at her and grimaced. It was killing me that she would soon be wed to another. Whatever had happened in the past didn't matter. I was going to fix things between us, I was determined to do so if it was the last thing I ever did.

She stood up and smiled slightly in my direction. "The tests will take some time." Gesturing towards the body she said, "I'm going to have to perform the autopsy now. You might not want to be here for that."

I walked over to her and said, "I don't mind."

Julia seemed a bit uneasy. "Yes, well, the only issue is that, well..."

"Speak your mind, Julia."

"Part of the murder weapon was found under your bed." I raised my eyebrows at that. I didn't think I was capable of killing a man but maybe...

She reached out and touched my forearm. "I don't for one second believe that you did this, William. Once I prove that you were drugged, we will be able to establish a case otherwise. Someone must be attempting to frame you."

"Do I have many enemies then?"

"You're a detective and you've put a lot of men behind bars, so yes, William, I'd say that you have some enemies."

"A detective?" I said looking down at my attire. "Dressed like this?"

Julia smirked a little. "We were at a costume party last night."

_We?_

"Why were you not with your fiance?"

"Darcy was visiting family in Buffalo and could not attend."

"So you asked me to escort you instead?"

"Not exactly...my sister, Ruby orchestrated the whole thing."

"And why would she have done that?"

Julia glanced away again. She seemed to be doing that awfully frequently.

"Who knows?" she muttered. "Ruby's motivations are often unclear."

It was obvious that she was being less than forthcoming but I didn't push the issue.

"Here, let me help you with the body."

"Thank you."

We lifted the murder victim onto the cold slab and then she stared at me. "I have to warn you, it's a bit gruesome."

I said I would be fine and she lifted back the white sheet. The man had clearly been bashed in the head several times. Whoever had done this had been angry, enraged even.

As Julia was preparing her utensils, a white haired man entered the viewing area. Though I didn't know his name, I felt that I didn't like him very much. The way he was currently looking at me, told me that the feeling was mutual.

"Detective Murdoch," said the Englishman, "I've just been informed of all the particulars." He glanced over at the body. "How _convenient_ that you've managed to get total amnesia...again."

_Again? Just how feeble minded am I?_

"Who are you?"

"Hilarious, Murdoch. I know that you are faking this. And I intend to prove it."

"Actually, Inspector Giles," said Julia, "I believe that he was drugged and-"

"Come now doctor, have you ever heard of a drug that completely erases a persons memory?"

"Well, no," she replied, giving me an apologetic look, "but there are new drugs synthesized every day, so it is completely within the realm of possibility that-"

"But not very likely I take it?"

She simply shook her head and seemed upset. I wanted very badly to deck Giles but that didn't seem like the best idea, not if I wanted to avoid being locked up; not if I wanted to have a chance to win Julia back before it was too late.

"Come along then, Murdoch, let's get this show on the road."

"How can he answer your questions if he doesn't remember anything?"

"I'll be the judge of _that_, doctor."


	2. Tensions Run High

Inspector Giles was a most disagreeable sort. He hounded me with questions that I could not answer and then finally locked me up in the holding cells. On the one hand I was free from the temptation to hurt the man, on the other I could not go see Julia. I tried my hardest to remember something, anything about my life up until last night but nothing was there. It was all just a white blank. Eventually I became disconcerted enough to give up in this folly and simply sat there wondering how to get myself out of this mess and what I would say to Julia when I next saw her.

It was awhile before someone came to see me. When they did, it was not who I hoped but instead the same orange haired man that had been present during my interrogation, albeit on the outside looking in. He introduced himself as Inspector Brackenreid. I was confused at first why there were two inspectors in the same station house until I realized the necessity of an outsider.

"It's not looking good, me old mucker.

_Me old mucker?_

"So far everything is pointing towards you. Are you absolutely positive that you don't recall anything from last night?"

"I'm sorry, but no."

"Well that's not good enough! Someone must have come into your room in order to plant the evidence. If you can't remember who, we're sunk."

_You mean I'm sunk._

"There's got to be a reason for this frame up, sir. If you can determine a reason for someone holding a grudge against me, that should lead you to the killer."

"Don't you think we've tried that? No one at the party had any previous connections to you!"

"Maybe you just haven't dug deep enough yet? Have you done thorough background checks on everyone in attendance?"

Brackenreid made a face. "For a bloke who doesn't remember anything, you sure are annoyingly Murdoch like!"

I didn't know if I took this as a compliment or not. I wasn't sure I liked who I used to be.

The inspector seemed ready to leave but I stopped him. "Sir, can you tell me why Julia has not visited me?"

Brackenreid sighed. "Bloody Giles has forbidden it. Somehow he learned of your past relationship. The bloody tosser thinks that all her findings are tainted now, _including_ the discovery that you were indeed drugged! Which is why you have to remember something, anything!"

My impending doom seemed nothing in comparison to losing her.

"Is there anyway that you could sneak her in for a few minutes?"

"If Giles were to find out..."

"Please, sir, it's _very_ important."

"Bloody hell," he muttered. "All right, Murdoch, I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you, sir," I said smiling.

* * *

Several more hours passed in which the sky gradually darkened and I began to feel drowsy. The effects of the drug seemed to be weakening but my mind was still a complete and utter blank. With one exception. I would continuously replay the moment at which I first laid eyes on her. It seemed to have a calming effect on me, which only served to make me even more drowsy. Determined to stay awake, lest she should be brought to me, I began pacing my tiny cell.

Finally the main holding cell door was opened and a familiar face poked through. I smiled at her arrival and it was returned, though only halfheartedly.

"What seems to be troubling you, Julia?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"To me it is."

She shook her head. "We don't have a lot of time, William, the inspector has only granted us five minutes. What did you wish to speak to me about?" Cautiously, "Did you recall something?"

"Yes and no."

"What do you mean?" she said curiously.

"In the interest of saving time, allow me to speak plainly."

She nodded.

"I don't remember you or the foolish reason that I let you go, but I know with absolute certainty...that I am in love with you."

Julia gasped at this proclamation and then cast her eyes downward. It was not the response that I had been hoping for.

"William, you know that I am to be married soon."

"So you do not feel the same way?" I asked heartbroken.

She sighed. "I didn't say that..."

"Then what's the problem?"

Julia retrieved a piece of paper from her purse and held it up to the bars. "Does this look familiar to you?"

I hastily read the stirring dialogue. I couldn't recall writing it but it voiced my feelings exactly. Though I was confused about one point.

"Why would it be necessary to adopt?"

"Because William, I had an abortion that left me sterile. It is the reason we broke up."

I won't lie. It did come as a shock to me. At first I was outraged and I didn't even know why. Perhaps I had been some religious zealot in my past life. After a few seconds a profound sadness came over me, as if never having natural born children was the be all and end all to my life. Some more time passed and the wave of emotion I experienced around her returned in full measure. I focused on this and blocked out the negative feelings.

I grabbed the bars. "I don't know why I never said anything before and it no longer matters anymore. All that matters is that I still feel the same way as the man who wrote that proposal to you. I still wish for you to be my wife."

"Oh William," she said with tears in her eyes, placing a hand over top mine. "I desire that very much too."

I reached through the bars and wiped away her tears, feeling as though I could fly, I was so happy.

"You would have me, even though I cannot remember everything we used to be?"

She smiled and squeezed my hand. "We will just have to make new memories."

I returned the smile. "I would like that very much."

"When Darcy returns tomorrow, I will tell him that I cannot go through with our union. In the meantime, I will do my best to prove your innocence. There-"

The door banged open and a quietly seething Giles stood in the threshold. Brackenreid arrived a few seconds later.

"Doctor, I thought I gave you a direct order? Is it possible that you misunderstood me?"

"Not at all inspector-"

"Then _why_ are you here, fraternizing with the suspect? Are you attempting to fill the detective's mind with false memories? Did _you_ perhaps kill Littlefair?"

"Bloody hell!" said Brackenreid. "You're barking up the wrong tree, Giles!"

"I don't think so." Giles locked angry eyes on Julia. "Until such time as I see fit, _you_ will have to be incarcerated too, doctor."

He bodily took her by the arm.

"Leave her alone!" I said loudly, shaking the bars. "She hasn't done anything wrong!"

"You'd best do as the man says, Giles!" said Brackenreid just as angrily. "I've had just about enough of you in _my_ station house, throwing _my_ people into _my_ cells!"

"Is that a threat, inspector?"

"Damn straight it is, you goddamn bastard!"

"I don't respond to threats, inspector, no matter who they are coming from."

He continued to drag Julia to the holding cell beside mine when Brackenreid tapped him on the shoulder and punched him in the face! He fell to the ground and Julia grabbed onto the bars to avoid doing the same.

"Thank you for doing that, inspector," Giles said calmly, as the blood dripped from his lower lip. "Now you can join her."

I suddenly realized that Brackenreid was right. We were sunk.

* * *

**Lol so this story is becoming very melodramatic...but I'm okay with that. :p**


	3. Bread Trail

The Doctor and Murdoch were intolerable! All Brackenreid wanted to do was get some bloody rest but they would not stop talking or staring lovey dovey at one another! It seemed Dr. Ogden was trying to jog Murdoch's memory by reliving their entire bloody relationship up to this point! Apparently they had forgotten that he was there. Several times Brackenreid had wanted to snap at them but the more he listened to the doctor, the more he realized that they sorely needed this respite.

There were far too many times that he himself had communicated poorly with Margaret, leading to many nasty arguments...but at least they had always spoken their respective minds in the end and had not left things unsaid. These two on the other hand, they seemed to have avoided speaking their true feelings on several different occasions, leading to several different break ups and several wasted months. Though he didn't often wax poetic about them, he did indeed think they made an admirable pair and had tried his best to push Murdoch onto the right path. But the detective was a stubborn bloke, too honourable by far and it had been to his detriment over and over again.

So it somehow made perfect sense to Brackenreid that by losing his memories and all his old hang ups, and simply following his heart, Murdoch was capable of doing what he could not when his rather oversized brain got in the way. In a lot of ways the inspector thought this memory loss was for the best. Not only would they not need to suffer for the rest of their lives, trying to recapture their former glory, but now Murdoch would be far more moldable to Brackenreid's methods of investigation and his life would hopefully become considerably easier quite soon.

Assuming they still had their jobs after getting out of this mess that is. Brackenreid didn't regret punching Giles for one second, even though it meant going slightly nuts listening to them, but now all of their hopes for rescue were solely placed on the shoulders of one George Crabtree! The man frequently got distracted by spiders! How in the bloody hell was he supposed to prove Murdoch's innocence?

_ I need a bloody drink._

* * *

After this whole fiasco, Chief Constable Stockton had gotten involved with his usual contempt towards all things Murdoch. As far as he was concerned, Giles had acted appropriately and the three of them would remain behind bars until this case was solved. They would have moved them to station house three, but the chances that the press would catch wind of this increased exponentially if they did so and they didn't want to deal with all the fanfare as well if they didn't have to. Stockton himself would oversee station house three until then.

Giles rounded up the men and explained the situation. To add insult to injury, the lads were forbidden from making any contact with the detainees for the foreseeable future, with the exception of the holding cell guard, who was hand picked by Giles from his own station house. If any of them attempted to discuss the case with the three of them in any way, they would be swiftly fired for disobeying orders.

Stockton had yet to decide Brackenreid's fate. He liked the man only slightly more than he liked Murdoch, not caring for the way the inspector often talked back to him. He had dismissed a Detective Lamb for a similar form of violent insubordination...but the inspector was not a rank below Giles, nor would he be gotten rid of that easily. If Stockton were to fire Brackenreid the lads of this station house would surely all mutiny and he would have to fire all of them. He didn't relish the prospect of having to repopulate an entire station, not when he was so close to retirement. So for the time being, he would simply mull things through with some of Brackenreid's good scotch.

* * *

Giles had taken George off the case, knowing full well of his devotion to the detective. In fact, he had made sure to replace George with members of his own station house. So it was that no one who cared about the doctor or detective were actually working the case! Giles had given him other, more mundane tasks to attend to but he had shirked them off on Henry and continued his own separate (desperate) investigation in his apartment. He was continuing the background checks, looking for anything and everything he could use to exonerate them.

Luckily, George wasn't working alone. Because of the circles Ruby kept, she had heard whispers of disquiet amongst the police force. Naturally she had bee-lined straight to George in order to suss out the particulars. Understandably she was outraged by her sisters incarceration and fully intended to put a stop to it by using the power of the press. George had convinced her otherwise.

"If you do that, Ruby, this mess will become even more muddled than it already is. Besides, I'm sure your sister doesn't mind being in close proximity with the detective."

After some consideration, "Yes, I suppose you are right, George. I'm quite pleased that Darcy is finally out of the picture. He was a most dull individual and could never have satisfied Jules properly. I never would have heard the end of it."

"Isn't that a bit mean of you? It's not the mans fault that he got caught in the middle of two lovers!"

"No, it's not, but I can't help the way I feel and as you know, I always state my opinions, regardless of what others might think." She glanced at him coyly, "Isn't that what you like about me, George? I thought we shared this lack of tact."

George just stared at her for a few moments, wanting to kiss her for what felt like the hundredth time but not having the guts to do so. She had quite the reputation and he was very afraid to start something that might quickly get out of hand and/or lead to heartbreak, most likely on his side. Besides, they had more important matters to attend to. The detective's neck was on the line!

His eyes drifted back to the newspaper articles he had found in the archives and he flipped the page. When he did he couldn't help but groan internally. This _can't_ be happening, he thought, rubbing his forehead.

Ruby caught his change in demeanour and asked sharply, "What's wrong? What did you discover?"

George sighed. "According to this article, Detective Murdoch _was_ connected to Littlefair!"

"Give that here!" she commanded, grabbing it from him without waiting.

After a few seconds she looked up confused. "George, this article says nothing about Littlefair..."

"Well, it wouldn't. Before I was taken off the case, I learned that the man had changed his name from Michael Cudmore. He's the fellow who killed the innkeeper and that the detective failed to put behind bars."

"What are you saying, George? Do you really think Detective Murdoch would have killed the man in cold blood in order to get justice...and then stuck around afterwards faking amnesia?"

"No, of course not, Ruby! But it is a most troubling discovery. If Giles were to find out...well, let's hope that _doesn't _happen, or there will be no way to persuade him of the detective's innocence!"

* * *

They had talked the entire night. As such it was only early that morning that they finally got to sleep. This was the first time Murdoch had closed his eyes since awakening to his new life. At first he dreamed nothing in particular, just random images of the single day he had memory of. But the deeper his slumber became, the more complex were his dreams. Distorted images of things he had no recollection of witnessing began plaguing his mind. Most notably was a surreal cat creature who grinned and spoke to him! The voice was not familiar in the slightest nor were the details surrounding the creatures origins.

He woke with a start and apparently a bit of a scream because Julia put her hand on his shoulder through the bars. He placed his over top hers while he calmed down.

"What did you see?"

"A cat," he said distractedly. "A very strange cat. It was...smiling at me." He turned around to face Julia and she seemed to be thinking. "What does it mean?"

"I think you're describing the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland."

"Does that help us at all?"

"Possibly. There _was_ someone dressed up like that at the party." Her eyes got wide. "I believe it was Littlefair's wife!" Julia tried to get the attention of their guard, (waking up a snoring Brackenreid in the process) but he simply ignored her. "Oh hell," she muttered under her breath, "this is intolerable!"

Murdoch smiled at her and said, "You are very fetching when you're angry."

"How can you make jokes at a time like this?!"

"Because Julia, I'm starting to remember."


	4. So Long, Goodbye

The holding cell guard told them that a visitor would be joining them shortly. This surprised them as no one had been granted access to them since their imprisonment. And the only time they had even seen anyone else was when they were escorted upstairs to the toilets.

_Who could it be_? thought Julia, _Ruby perhaps_?

As soon as the main door was opened, she knew she had been mistaken. It was Darcy!

Giles himself brought the man in, looking even more smug than usual. He must have known how awkward the following encounter was going to be.

"I'll leave you to explain the situation, Dr. Ogden."

Darcy was standing in front of the middle cell, looking puzzled. He glanced to his left and right to find William and the inspector also present. For whatever reason his eyes lingered on William longer than the latter.

Finally his eyes found hers and he placed a hand to the bars. She didn't reciprocate the gesture.

"Julia, what on earth is going on? I returned home only a few hours ago, with you nowhere to be found, half out of my mind with worry. I tried to contact your sister but she could not be reached either. So I came to the station house to report a missing persons case..." gesturing around them, "and here we are."

Julia rubbed her arm and glanced down. "I'm terribly sorry for causing you such a fright, Darcy." She sighed and then began explaining what had happened since his departure. Darcy's eyes went through a variety of emotions, while his face stayed neutral. When she finished the narration his eyes had narrowed in suspicion.

"So," he said slowly, "what are you saying, Julia? That you're in here because you were simply trying to help clear Detective Murdoch's name?" He glanced at the man in question briefly. "That doesn't make much sense to me."

Julia was silent and he prompted her again.

"Inspector Giles ordered me not to come here...(_due to our past romantic relationship)_. I did anyway and now he thinks I'm involved in the murder."

"But that's ridiculous! You would never- I'm going to get this cleared up right this instant!"

He was half way to the door before she stopped him. "I appreciate your indignation, Darcy, but I wasn't finished yet."

It took all of her strength to continue speaking. She wished William and the inspector were not here to witness her disgrace.

"What more _could _there be?!"

"Darcy, I should have told you sooner, but, well,"- she took a deep breath- "our wedding is off." She removed her engagement ring and held it out to him through the bars. "I'm not going to be marrying you tomorrow."

Darcy's skin tone blanched, making him look even more like a ghost than usual. He was quiet for awhile while he processed this statement and then he stared angrily at William, pointing an accusatory finger at him.

"This is all your fault, isn't it?! I thought I told you what would happen if you interfered!"

Julia frowned at that comment. If ever she had any doubt that Ruby had said something about their past relationship, it was forever put to rest now. Still it was surprising to note that Darcy had threatened William. It was so unlike the person she had grown to love. But perhaps a year wasn't really enough time to get to know someone?

William simply levelled a blank stare at Darcy.

"You're lucky you're locked up or I would-"

"Enough, Darcy!" she exclaimed. "It's over. I'm sorry but I choose William. I never meant to hurt you but I couldn't in good conscience go through with our union. Not when I still have feelings for him."

With one last furious glare at the two of them, he stormed out of there, not taking the ring out of her hand. Julia stuck it in her blouse pocket and an awkward silence ensued.

"Well, that went well," said Brackenreid, with a chuckle. "Poor bastard." All of a sudden he was very chipper. "Oh well, he'll get over it soon enough."

Julia was slightly miffed. He was basically saying that she was not anything particularly special.

"Nothing a little whiskey can't cure."

_Was that the man's solution to everything?_

Julia's clinical mind took over a second and she wondered not for the first time, just how much damage the inspector had done to his liver with all his drinking. Unless he was made of unusually tough stuff, eventually he would succumb to cirrhosis and end up on her slab. That was not a day she cherished thinking about and was the precise reason she had told Margaret to try and get him to join The Temperance league a few years back. Predictably this bold manoeuvre had failed but Margaret _had_ succeeded in getting him to cut back a bit, if only a very little. Which was better than nothing and counted as a win in her book. Technically the end of her relationship with Darcy should also be construed as such but she couldn't seem to feel very happy about the circumstances.

Beside her was the man of her dreams, (both figuratively and literally) that she had yearned for in often excruciating ways, and yet, something wasn't quite right. If William never fully retrieved his memories, could he really be considered as the same man that she had fallen in love with? Or would there always be a piece missing from him that prevented them from fitting together perfectly?

_I suppose I will find out soon enough...assuming William is not hung._

But she couldn't-wouldn't think about that scenario and instead sat on her bed, humming a calming tune to herself while she combed her ample hair with her fingertips. It wasn't long before she noticed William watching her and feeling embarrassed for some reason, stopped.

"That melody..."

"Yes?"

"It's quite lovely. I feel as though I've heard it before but I can't seem to place it."

"My mother used to sing it to me...no doubt you've heard me in the morgue." Her eyes brightened. "This is good news, William, it means your amnesia is continuing to wane!"

* * *

"Ruby, listen to this!" cried George. "Among the witnesses was an actress by the name of Ava Moon! She claims that Cudmore assaulted her after he was acquitted on a technicality!"

"So?" she asked puzzled. "There was no one by the name of Ava Moon at the party."

"Yes, but I distinctly recall something along the lines of that in the nonsense poem!"

Ruby's eyes flashed excitedly. "Well, then, George, it appears we need to have a word with our hostess for she is the one who wrote it!"

They were in the middle of throwing on their shoes when there was a loud knock at the door. They shared a look with one another and then George went to answer it. A constable he had never seen before was standing in the threshold. He was large and imposing but George thought he could handle him if needs be.

"Inspector Giles requests your immediate presence."

George glanced back at Ruby, who was looking a little concerned. Nevertheless she nodded and the message was understood. Ruby would take over from here on out.


End file.
